by Cole Lepley
Perry stops fighting against him, but his jaw remains tense. “This is bullshit.”
Jeremy nods. “Yes, it is.” He holds a finger up. “But, we’re not going to get into it right now, and do you know why?”
The angry look on Perry’s face doesn’t fade. “Why?” he grits out.
Jeremy grins wide, releasing him. “Because it’s a party.” He grabs the girl next to him and spins her around. “And you’re supposed to be having fun.”
I cover my face with my hands. “Oh, no. Please tell me you’re not going to dance, Jer.”
Jeremy stops twirling the girl and she almost stumbles to the ground. He catches her before shooting me an incredulous look. “Are you saying I can’t dance?”
I nod. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
The grin on his face gets larger, but he doesn’t say anything. He moves through the crowd to where the music is playing. He motions to a guy controlling the volume to crank it up and proceeds to dance around like an idiot in the middle of the crowd. Walker immediately is almost doubled-over in laughter, nearly knocking me from my seat in between his legs.
“Don’t encourage him,” I say between laughs of my own.
Perry comes back to our side with an amused expression. “Okay,” he says motioning to my brother. “That idiot is actually making me feel better.”
My smile turns to a frown when Jeremy decides to dance on the large rock at the edge of the cliff. I jump down from the tailgate and hold my hands up around my mouth. “Hey, get off there!” I call to him.
Jeremy gives me a look like I’m crazy, ignoring my pleas. “Relax, Tess. I know what I’m doing.”
His face shifts to fear when the edge of the rock cracks and he stumbles slightly. He lets out a nervous laugh, catching his balance. “Whoa. That was lucky,” he says with a smirk.
Before any of us can sigh in relief, the rock cracks again and I don’t see him anymore. The next few moments happen in a blur as my brain goes quickly from confusion to panic. I open my mouth and release a scream that I’m sure could be heard all the way in town.
I try to get to him, but my body feels so heavy. No matter how hard I fight, I can’t move forward. Then I figure out the reason—Walker is holding me back. My eyes frantically go back to the rock. Perry’s lying flat on his stomach, half his body over the edge. Complete chaos is swirling around me and all I can think about is getting to the rock. I need to get to Jeremy.
Someone yells to call 911, but everyone is afraid to move. There’s no way you can survive a fall from here, but that’s crazy right? There’s no way Jeremy could be dead.
Tears are streaming down my cheeks when Perry look back at me with horror in his eyes. He doesn’t have to say anything. I already know. I start pounding my fists into anything I can get my hands on but it doesn’t calm me.
It goes so long I can’t even see anymore. My vision is blurred and I feel dizzy. When I open my eyes again, it’s not Walker who is holding me anymore—it’s Perry. He grips me so tight I can hardly breathe. I’m not sure I could anyway. Nothing feels right. This has to be a dream. It’s all just a bad dream and I’m going to wake up and everything is going to be the way it used to be.
But I never do.
20
Sugar And Spice And Everything Is Fucked
Perry- Then
It’s been two months since Jeremy’s death and none of us are surviving well. The only thing keeping us together right now is the fact that we remain a team. Walker, Tess, and I have spent nearly every day together since the accident. It’s times like these when you really value whatever time you have left. If we can learn anything from what happened, it’s that you never know when your number’s up.
That being said, it’s been hard to carry on with business as usual with Tess always in observance. Although strongly against it, I’ve taken some of the traffic through my dad’s car dealership. Clients would schedule bullshit appointments or meet me out back—which is shady as fuck. We need a new plan.
Tess is still getting ready, so Walker and I are out in front of the garage throwing the ball around until she’s done. It’s the perfect time to discuss what our next move is.
“Okay,” I say, setting up for a three-point shot. “My dad’s business is out. If we go down, I’m not taking him with me.” I give the ball a forceful throw and it swishes through the hoop.
Walker runs to retrieve it. He jogs back and dribbles it in front of me. “I agree, and I have something to add.”
I start shaking my head before he even begins speaking. “Nope, we’re not getting into that again.”
Walker gives me a look before turning to take a shot. He misses and it bounce off the backboard. “Come on, Perry. You know as well as I do we’re getting shorted.” He fetches the ball again and then checks it into my chest. “This could be good for us.”
I bounce the ball into the grass and take a step toward him, lowering my voice. “I don’t think we should fuck with Robby. Everybody gets a cut, that’s how this works.”
“We deserve a bigger one. We’re taking most of the risk.”
A couple months ago, Walker got it into his head that we should go above Robby and straight to the source. We didn’t always know who that was, but after getting some inside information, we do now. Cutting out Robby means he no longer controls how much we sell or what we get paid to do it. It does not change the parameters of the arrangement. We still have our territory and he has his, but we’d be more on equal playing fields. Or so Walker thinks.
Jeremy shot the idea down immediately. When we first got into this, it was for fun. I’m sure a couple of high school kids could have thought of more appropriate activities for fun other than being drug dealers, but what’s done is done. The point he was trying to make was that we shouldn’t get deeper into this than we already are, and I totally agreed. Walker has a different perspective. He believes this is our ticket to financial freedom. Since none of us went to college, his plan is to bank up as much money as possible in the quickest amount of time.
I glance back to the house for a moment. The light in Tess’s bedroom is still on. Turning back to Walker, I take a breath. “Jeremy didn’t want this.”
His face immediately falls, and I feel like a dick. Was it a low blow? Sure, but what am I supposed to do right now? He’s talking about taking something to the next level that could very easily get us thrown in prison—or worse.
He grips the back of his neck, gritting his teeth together. “That’s bullshit, man.”
I throw my arms out to my sides and whisper back harshly, “It’s the truth.”
He laces his hands on top of his head and walks a few steps away from me. We’re both quiet for a moment, until he turns around. “I’m not trying to make this worse, I’m trying to make it better. For all the hours I put in at the tattoo parlor working for Mike, I barely have shit. This is my chance to make enough money to buy my own building and set me and Tess up for a good life.”
“It’s dirty money. She won’t be okay with that.”
“How the fuck do you know?” he says, suddenly angry. He takes another step toward me. “Do you think you know her better than I do?”
The accusation in his eyes catches me off guard. “No, I don’t think that at all…”
He pokes me in the chest, cutting me off. “That’s how it looks to me. You’re always speaking for her like you know what she needs. She’s my girl, not yours.”
Before I can respond, Tess comes out of the back door and down the stairs of the porch. Her eyes widen when she sees the obvious discord between us. She shoves her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, coming to a stop beside me.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
I force a quick smile. “Nothing.” I nudge Walker. “He was just being a little bitch because my game is better.”
Walker smiles back at her, but it’s very fake as well. “So he thinks.” He nudges me back, but it’s a bit more aggressive. I sway to the
side and grit my teeth. He does not want to throw down with me. I’ve been fighting with Sloan all week on top of everything else and I’m in no mood for these games. Best friend or not, we’re talking about doing something that could impact all of our lives—and not in a good way.
Tess gives a skeptical look between us, but keeps her thoughts to herself. Instead, she changes the subject. “Okay. Where are we going for dinner? I’m starving.”
“I gotta go deal with Sloan. She’s been on my ass all week,” I say. Faking the irritation in my tone is easy. I actually have to go deal with business, but I can’t exactly say that.
Tess groans. “Tell her to come with us.”
I hug her to my side and plant a kiss to the top of her head. “You know how she is. You guys have fun and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Reluctantly, she nods and starts walking toward Walker’s jeep. He opens the door for her and then jogs over to my car. He leans in the window as I get in, his hands gripping the frame of the door.
“Perry, I know you’re against this and I get it, but will you please just go with me to meet him later?” I let out a frustrated growl, and he ignores it. “One meeting and if it feels wrong, we’ll leave. I’ll leave it up to you.”
Great. Just pile everything on my shoulders. With a sigh, I reach in my center console for my cigarettes. “Fine,” I say roughly, lighting it. I take a drag and point my finger at him. “Wipe that smile off your face. I didn’t agree to anything yet. We’ll see what’s up.”
Walker continues to grin. “You won’t regret this. Everything will be golden.”
I grind my teeth once more. I distinctly remember someone else saying that—and look where we are now.
Tess has an eleven o-clock curfew on weekdays, so it doesn’t surprise me when Walker pulls into my driveway fifteen minutes after that. Sloan is asleep next to me on my couch down in the game room. We were watching some stupid girl movie and she passed out within minutes. If I wake her up, I’ll have to tell her where I’m going and that is never a fun conversation. It’s like being interrogated by the police—only worse. Not that I would know or anything.
I decide to cover her with a blanket instead. After placing a kiss to her forehead, I grab my hoodie and meet Walker outside. He leaves the jeep running, so I hop inside quickly before anyone sees him.
I cross my arms and glare at him as he takes off down the road. “Who is this guy anyway?”
Walker shrugs. “Nobody really knows. They call him Sugar.”
“Sugar?” I laugh bitterly. “I bet he ain’t too sweet either.”
Walker laughs, but he’s more amused than anything. “Probably not, but at least he’s willing to meet with us.” He glances over at me. “It’s a good sign.”
I scoff. “Or it’s a sign he’s willing to kill us.”
Walker frowns. “Don’t be so negative.”
I turn in my seat toward him. “Oh, I’m sorry Scarface. I didn’t realize you were a drug kingpin now.” He grins and I shake my head. “Do you have any idea the bad things that could happen to us by walking into this blind?”
He ignores my statement and pulls off onto a secluded road. I raise an eyebrow because this neighborhood is fairly elite. All the houses are spaced a couple acres apart, with manicured lawns, and a few are even gated. Plenty of space to securely hide bodies.
I keep chain smoking as he slows to a stop in front of the house at the end of the road. It’s the last driveway and it’s long enough that you can’t really see the house from here.
“This it?” I ask.
Walker glances at his phone and back to the mailbox. “So it seems.” He turns to me. “You ready?”
With a sigh, I toss my cigarette out the window. “As I’ll ever be.”
We walk side by side up the driveway. When we reach the door, he stops and looks at me. At first I’m confused, but then it clicks what he wants. I roll my eyes and knock once. It goes a while, so I knock again. My heart is pounding so hard I’m half afraid it will burst out of my chest.
Very slowly, the door pulls back and a little old lady smiles. “Look at you two handsome boys. Come on in, I’ve been expecting you.”
Walker and I exchange a look, but comply. She leads us through a grand foyer with two-story windows down a hallway. She takes a turn into a gourmet kitchen, only it appears instead of baking, granny has been cooking meth. Panic alarms are going off inside of me the further into the house we get. This is fucked.
I look back at Walker and he still doesn’t say anything. I guess I have to do all of the talking too.
“So, you know Robby?”
The wrinkles in her face scrunch up when I say his name. “That little shit. He doesn’t listen very well, I’ll tell you that.” The harshness in her tone surprises me. “I’m hoping you boys were taught a little more respect.”
Sweat starts to trickle down the back of my neck. I’m not sure why I’m so nervous right now. This lady is at least eighty years old, and my guess is about ninety pounds soaking wet. I could take her.
“Yes, ma’am,” I say, folding my hands together in front of me. I look around and see bricks of pot stacked in the corner. “I should mention we’re only here for weed. We don’t mess with the other shit.”
Her eyes almost twinkle. “So I’ve heard.”
She turns her back to us and I steal a glance at Walker. He looks scared now, but I’m actually starting to feel better. She’s not so bad. My eyebrows pull in when I catch him staring straight ahead at something with fear in his eyes. When I face forward again, I see why.
Before I can react, Sugar apparently, has a shotgun pointed directly at my dick.
She smiles at me, cocking it with a loud click. “You’re awfully forward to be stating demands before we discussed the rules yet.” She presses the barrel against my shaft. “I suggest you listen and listen good. I would hate to have to blow your balls clean off.”
Very—and I mean very—slowly, I raise my hands in the air. “I’m listening.”
She winks at me. “Good.” When she lowers the barrel of the gun, I breathe for the first time in the last minute. “From now on, you work for me. Anybody ever gives you shit, you come straight here. This is my turf. Sam and Robby aren’t running the show around here. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I repeat. I can’t tell if she likes it or not, but it’s like an automatic reaction when someone of her age is speaking to you.
She nods to the table where two large delivery totes are stacked. “Those are yours. You have two weeks. You come back and they’re gone, I give you more. That’s how it works.”
I nod quickly. “Sounds good. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
She smiles again, glancing over at Walker. “What’s wrong with your friend? Is he mute or something?”
I laugh nervously, throwing my arm over his shoulder. “No, he’s just shy.” I give his shoulder a squeeze. “Aren’t you buddy?”
Walker nods and gives a very unconvincing smile. I’m going to punch him later.
She nods to table again. “Well, go on then. I’m missing my favorite program the longer you two fuck around.”
Releasing Walker, I reach forward and grab both totes. “See you soon,” I say over my shoulder.
The old lady’s laugh travels all the way into the foyer as we hurry out of the house.
As soon as we’re outside, Walker grabs my arm. “I thought you said we’d think it over before we made any decisions.”
I shoot him an angry look. “My fucking dick was in jeopardy. This was the only choice.” I toss the bags in the back of Walker’s jeep and turn back to him. “Congratulations, you got what you wanted.”
Walker puts his hand on my shoulder, his expression fierce. “I promise this is a good move. You won’t regret this.”
I clench my jaw and pull away from him. As I take my seat on the passenger side, I lean my head back and close my eyes. Walker is crazy if he thinks we just did something good, and he doesn’t ha
ve to worry about me regretting it.
I already do.
21
What Do You Want From Me?
Perry- Now
I’m in a mood when I pick Sloan up down the street from Johnny’s apartment. I hate sneaking around with her. It’s true I’ve always walked a fine line between right and wrong, but this feels really bad. Guilt swirls in my gut every time I drop her off. It’s also followed by pure hatred at the fact that she continues to be indecisive about us. If she wants me, she wants me. There should be no in between at this point.
I’ve never felt good enough for Sloan and yet I keep going back. Pushing for something that never seems to really work out. At this point it could just be habit, but a part of me believes there’s a reason for it all. That maybe if I just try a little harder we could be happy.
Sloan is seated beside me in my car. She has on her over-sized sunglasses and a fitted cream blazer and dark designer jeans. She even looks better than me.
Her hand brushes mine when we reach a stoplight. “Per, you okay?”
I shake my head, tightening my grip on the steering wheel. “I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get to Cornell and that scares me.” I glance over at her. “I could kill him.”
She flashes a nervous smile. “Please don’t.” Her hand laces with mine. “I just got you back.”
The light turns green and I laugh bitterly. The hand holding mine still has a rather large diamond on it.
“Did you?”
I can’t keep the sarcasm from my tone and she sighs. She pulls her hand away and runs it through her hair, facing out of the window. “What do you want me to do, Perry?”
“Leave him,” I say simply, keeping my eyes on the road.
“Leave him,” she huffs. “It’s not that simple.”
I can’t drive around and play games with her today. I still need to talk to Tess, make shit straight with Robby, and make it to Cornell before the game starts. Disobeying traffic laws, I take an illegal turn and pull off the road. Sloan looks over at me with wide eyes.